Darkness Within
by RevolutionChick
Summary: PRDT, set around the timeline of Back In Black and White Thunder. Fear treads deep into the manifestation of our minds. Ficlet. Finished
1. The Nightmare

**Darkness Within**

_The Nightmare_

He felt as though he was being suffocated; drowning in the sea of faces and accusations, stifled by the oppressive attitudes, clawing and grasping, and trying to gasp in air. He couldn't get it in, though. He couldn't breath, and he couldn't get away.

The thought of great pain had always held more fear from Tommy than death itself. Death was nothing to fear, but the pain that came before it was a terrible thing. A death in the night, all alone, at the hands of the enemy was a nightmare that had haunted him for years. It was the horror of it, the fear before his body was torn, and the knowledge that there was no escape that had filled his adolescent dreams and woken him gasping in the middle of the night.

And the thought of torture, the fear of breaking under the strain and telling all he knew, of giving in, had always frightened him, made him wonder if he would be strong enough to die rather than betray everything he had ever loved.

He held on as long as he could, looking up at the creature above him with eyes full of rage. He could scarcely distinguish the monster, his sight having become nothing but a colorful haze. Yet what he did see had his mind reeling. His memories ran backwards, perhaps it was his life playing before his eyes, or maybe it was just his last thoughts.

Whatever it was, he found himself remembering it all. Thrown to his knees, hands behind his back as his captor prepared him for death; strapped down to a bitter, metal table, barely conscious and frail from battle; fighting hand-to-hand combat with Zeltrax, as in the sky, a Megazord battled breathlessly; contacting his Rangers; watching in horror as Mesogog attacked the city; and before all that, thinking the worse part of his day was having to fail one of his students.

The events continued to run backwards, all the way towards his memories as a Ranger before all of this. His different colors, his different teammates, and the different occasions his mind was possessed by evil.

And then it stopped.

Whatever happened from there was no longer a memory of his own. Tommy Oliver had left the body trembling in pain, broken on the floor. A tidal wave of energy was the last thing he had felt, a rush that he had experienced so many times before. The darkness, the evil and the hate flooded his veins like a shot of heroin, a drug he was almost sickened to feel relief by.

The feeling was familiar, it was a part of him - no, _another _part of him. It wasn't the man that taught education, or practiced marital arts. It was a hidden essence within him, a cancer buried away for so many years finally released.

A servant, a woman standing away from the scene, stared at the fallen human with eyes of confusion. "My master…" she said ever so softly, her attention never drifting from the figure.

"Quiet," a man of armor stepped forward with wrath, "before I have your head!" His sword pressed tightly against her neck, his position close to putting her in a headlock.

She never glimpsed at him though, she wasn't even startled by the action taken. Elsa was nearly hypnotized by the event taking place and the powerful rays blasting out of the beast's mind.

"My master!" She was thrown to the ground, the sword tighter against her neck because of her eruption. Zeltrax stood over her with his weapon in hand, protecting his Lord from any disruptions as he had promised.

It was too late, unfortunately. Mesogog snapped his head behind him, his eyes burning with immorality as he hissed the sound of a dragon. While the charge of power had stopped flowing from his mind, he was ready to face his servant and send her to her own death.

Yet he never got a chance to even consider the thought.

His claw was snatched in a tight grip, causing him to twist around and see the source. For a man of high power, an evil that had many bow down before him, fear at the sight below fled through his body.

There the human kneeled, his hand clutching the mutant's wrist whilst he stared up at him, his eyes glowing an eerie red.

"Who…." Mesogog hissed, "Are _you_?"

Ever so slowly, his eyes returned to a soft, chocolate brown, but his appearance seemed to drastically change despite it. He detained a white complexture, shinning lightly with sweat as the dark, black bags under his eyes stood out like a sore thumb.

He was a completely different being than what first entered the lair, an extreme transformation that had every villain in the room frightened of.

"Who am I?" A chuckle slipped through his lips, dripping with the sound of vanity.

No one could react to what happened next, not even the mighty Zeltrax. In a blink of an eye, Tommy jerked Mesogog's body down to the floor with the simple strength of his hand. Once there, his leg stood with force on his back and his hands gripped the neck of the creature.

His breath was right on his scales, whispering softly into Mesogog's ear. "I'm your worst nightmare."

Two seconds. It was all he needed to gather his might and twist the neck of the creature. The result was a cringing _crack _that echoed the walls.

He laughed.

* * *

The room had filled itself with clatter of static, falling plasterboard, and no matter where you walked, some mound of flames or sparks would be in your sight. To say the Dino Lair was trashed would be putting it lightly.

Conner, Ethan and Kira couldn't find the will to breathe at the sight. Jaws were dropped to the floor, and hands either gripping their chest or covering their mouths in utter disbelief. They had walked slowly, taking each step with ease and looking around them as if the place was new to them again.

"So much for making your music video down here, Kira…" Ethan's mutter went unnoticed, his voice brushed away with the wind.

Conner stumbled through a newly formed doorway, what once he could only assume was a wall. His hands wanted to brush against all he passed by, to feel the texture of destruction on his skin and make sure this was realism. But the fear settled in his stomach had him nearly paralyzed

He took an unsteady breath in, "Dude…what the hell went on down he-?"

"_**Conner!**_" Kira's shriek wasn't at Petra-intensity, but still managed to stun Ethan and Conner into running to her side.

She had wandered off into the base of the lair, where the computer consoles and testing areas once were. Now everything lay shattered on the ground, and she stood alone, hands over mouth and tears flowing down her cheeks.

Ethan had turned away the very second he saw what Kira had screamed for, his throat gagging with impending vomit. Even Conner sensed he was about to be sick at the sight.

A lifeless body rested sprawled over a computer chair, red-hair tangled over her face and vacant eyes staring at nothing. Her arms, dangling limply to the floor, revealed her palms to be severely burnt and bleeding profusely.

"Oh shi-"

"Surprise."

The three Rangers whipped their heads around at the voice, the recognizable, once congenial voice.

At first they believed eyes couldn't be trusted, that it was a trick being played on them, or they were in some alternate dimension of horror. Standing in front of them, dressed in every-day black, was their mentor, their friend, their teammate.

Only it wasn't. His eyes burned ardently with evil, his stance, the mere vibe he fabricated, said nothing of Dr. Oliver. His physical appearance was nothing short of sickening, with what was once lightly toasted tan skin turned ghostly pale.

Their first thought was possession. They knew he went missing a day ago; it wasn't him in front of them, it was a man under someone's control. And hesitatingly, they formed a defensive stance.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Dr. Oliver?" Conner had demeaned, doing all he could to stand strong and not show the weakness in his voice.

The three shyly took a step away when the man walked forward, hands still behind his back in what could be called a civil manner. They watched as his eyes skimmed them all, as if he was aiming to get a decent look at them for judgment.

But it wasn't about them as a group. Despite his first impression, Tommy walked towards Conner, finding himself breaking any personal space the teen had by standing inches apart from his face.

His arms came forward, and gently he grazed the skin of the boy's cheek. "You're so naïve…" His fingers trailed down his neck, the sensation of his clean shave sending shivers down his back.

But then he reached his chest, where in one quick reflex, his hand formed a fist and knocked Conner right in the ribs.

The Ranger fell backwards, coughing hard and gasping for air at the sudden blow. He had Ethan by his side, clutching his arm as a way of asking 'are you okay?'

Conner didn't pay attention to his presence though; he had his sight directed at the man in front of him, his tear-welled eyes full of mistrust.

"Just like the others before you."

The room held silence, or so it seemed with no voice being spoken. Through the Ranger's minds, they could hear and feel their hearts pounding mercilessly in their chest while Tommy walked past them, heading towards the very area they were in shock at before. The simplest of noise had become thunder while the room still held quietness.

They watched with fear as he bent to his knees, brushing away the vibrant red hair on the body's face. "Magnificent woman, was she not?" Tommy looked over at them, almost as if he were expecting them to reply. "She just asked…way too many questions, unfortunately," he sighed, his head bowed to the floor with sorrow that was almost believable.

Almost, of course.

Conner clutched his fist firmly, "You _killed_ her. You killed Hayley!"

He looked up, looking intently into the eyes of his student. The boy always let his emotions get the best of him; he held so much passion and confidence that he had no idea what to do with.

Ever so slowly, Tommy got off his knees and with sincerity, crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah…" he admitted with a nod, "looks like I did."

If there was any time the qualities that made him a Ranger showed so brightly, it would have been then. Conner had found himself striding forward with rage, his finger pointing accusingly in the air.

"You may be possessed, brain-washed, hell I don't care if this is really you. No matter what Mesogog has done, you will not succeed with _whatever_ you are planning. Dr. Oliver taught us to allow no evil win against us."

The sound started out as a scoff, barely making its way into the sound barrier. Soon it grew into a light chuckle, the man it belonged to dropping his head to the floor and shaking it ever so calmly.

And then, he laughed manically. A laugh of _his _voice, the voice that they heard so many times speaking words of encouragement, rang around them dripping with the sounds of evil.

Chills were sent down their spine, Kira had clung to Ethan's arm looking as if she wanted to hide behind him and wish this all away. Slowly, Conner's arm dropped to his side, his fingers unraveling with loss of impulsion.

The cackle had stopped abruptly, and Tommy shot his head up to reveal eyes radiating scarlet red.

"You have…_no _idea what you are up against."

He watched as they hesitantly stepped forward, arms outward and fists ready for battle. Their fighting stance had no self-assurance behind them whatsoever; he could almost smell their fear.

Tommy grinned wickedly, shrugging his shoulders lightly at the offer for him to win another brawl. He rolled up his sleeves, chuckling in amusement as every so often one of the teens would make a movement of stepping forward, and then moving back again.

No matter how prepared they thought they were for an attack, when Tommy ran forward they lost all poise.

The man first took on Conner, throwing a punch in the gut that easily had him knocked down. The result was Ethan grabbing his arm, a feeble attempt to swing him around into a wall behind them.

Tommy had the upper-hand hover, and reversed roles with his arms gripped around the Ranger's and swinging him to the floor, immediately bending his knee backwards to kick the girl behind him, her endeavor at a sneak-attack failing hideously.

He shook his head with dissatisfaction. "Looks like I didn't teach you all I could have, huh?"

Conner, Ethan and Kira looked up at him from their fallen positions, anger rising by the second. They jumped forward, using all techniques they could think of to break the man at the very slightest.

It was no more than two minutes later that they realized they had no idea how much skill their science teacher truly did have. Countless times they were on the floor with a new injury, weakened at best trying to win against someone who had years of martial art training.

"If any of you are black belts," Ethan grunted, "Now would be a _great _time to show us."

Kira passed by him, a pipe in hand as she threw her arm back to strike Tommy. He spun around and blocked the hit before it could touch him, and instantly yanked the cylinder out of her grip to then grab her hands tightly.

She was at his will, her wrist being clutched to the point of torture. Kira felt as if her blood veins were going to burst, never did she imagine the man had this much power.

'_Or maybe he doesn't. Whatever's doing this to him…whatever is in his mind, it must be giving him the impression that he's stronger than he's ever tried to be.' _Kira whimpered, her knees weakening as she watched her body slowly fall to the floor, the more she dropped the taller he became.

Her mouth then dropped open, her body taking the largest inhale possible before she let out a terrifying, ear breaking Petra scream. It had sent Tommy flying backwards and skidding across the ground.

Ethan and Conner watched in horror the consequences of her actions take place. The lair was unstable with no support keeping things up. The ceiling came crumbling down on her body, irony at its best when she didn't scream, instead her cry cut short.

"_Kira!_" Ethan pulled Conner back, wishing himself to go help their teammate but pointing out that just across from them, Tommy had gotten back up and stumbled towards the pile of cement.

His hand plummeted into the pile, the Ranger's eyes going wide at the sight of such strength. Tommy dug around at first, and then tugged a dusty, frail body into the air.

Kira appeared to be unconscious, her legs and arms limp as her head swayed droopily to the side. He switched his grip from her wrist to her neck, and despite Ethan and Conner's belief that he was choking her; he held her throat with ease.

He brought her body close to him, her face near his. "A little lesson for you, Kira…"

His arm flew around, Kira going along for the ride as he let go of her throat within mid air and watched as she crashed into three wall posts before finally slamming against the stairway.

Ethan and Conner weren't far away; their eyes got a fine glimpse of her corpse pouring blood from her cracked skull onto the stairs from impact.

Tommy wiped his hands clean of dust, "Evil outdoes good. Shooting it only makes it stronger."

The shock was almost enough to give the boys a heart attack. Conner couldn't even keep his composure anymore. He slowly descended to his knees as his eyes burned with tears.

The death in the room was starting to smell clearly, both Hayley and now Kira's body lying motionlessly by the motive of a man they couldn't understand. They would continue the fight, they wouldn't let evil win…

But how did this evil come to be in the first place?

"Dr. O…" Ethan shakily stepped forward, his hands outward in a surrender position. The man held no expression, and Ethan could only assume it was safe to resume.

He kept walking, "Listen…Dr. O, whatever's happened, whatever you're doing…we can stop. You can stop. Let us help you."

The silence had once again returned. But this time, there was truly no noise. The static was distant, and any unstable walls had already fallen. Tommy stood still, his returning brown eyes staring off with confusion.

"Ethan?"

Conner looked up from the ground, stunned.

"Y-yeah…Dr. O, it's me. It's us." Ethan's breath hitched his stomach on a roller coaster of fear and possible hope.

He could sense Conner staring through his back, watching in uncertainty as Tommy gripped his forehead, trying to figure out what was going on.

The Ranger moved forward, cautiously but steadily with an extended arm. He wasn't dense, he knew at best if this was genuine it'd only persist for a few more seconds, if that. But if they could tie him down, get the advantage, they could stop this killing spree before it went any further.

"Ethan…" At first, his head nodded gradually. But his eyes stared straight into Ethan's, and the teenager jumped at the chance to grab his arm, stroking it softly while still having the restraint over him.

Little did he know, losing eye contact with the man was the worse thing he could do. His focus was so attentive to the upper hand, that he failed at discovering it was all a trick.

Tommy's eyes sizzled the red of evil he possessed, and Conner could only watched in horror as the deception played out.

"_**Dude! **_It's a tric-"

It was too late. Tommy had Ethan's arm in a strong grip, throwing him onto the ground with a flick of the wrist as he snatched the nearest loose electrical wire near him.

His actions looked as if he were heading for his chest, Conner had even leapt off the floor running to stop the deed. If Tommy had plans for that area, the Ranger could have surely stopped him.

But Conner's arms grabbed thin air near Ethan's stomach when Tommy lunched forward and shoved the sparking cables into his student's mouth.

A gut-wrenching cry abruptly filled the room, and the force sent both Conner and Tommy stumbling backwards, their fingers flickering with left over electricity.

It was nothing compared to Ethan's state, however. His body jolted off the ground continuously, eyes wide open with blood gushing out of his mouth. It wasn't long before it all ceased, and his body lying motionlessly on the ground.

Conner gaped, "What the HELL is wrong with you!?" His scream echoed the lair, his feet lunging forward and tackling Tommy to the ground.

He only got a few punches in before he was pushed off, pinned to the ground by his opponent. Tommy stared at him, his arm hurled backwards in the air with an approaching hit.

Yet, he never made a move. "You could have morphed. You have genetic powers, _Conner! _What the hell is wrong with _me? _What's wrong with you! You could have stopped me and saved them."

He stood over the torn, ragged body with rage fuming through his voice. "You're not a leader. You don't even have the right to call yourself a Power Ranger."

Those very words had made Conner snapped; he brought his knees up and kicked Tommy off of him, jumping to his feet immediately and diving towards the man with every muscle in his body. His arms had strong grips on his shoulders, and he shoved him backwards, running absently not knowing when they'd hit a wall.

His anger took the best of him, the vehemence flowing through him causing him to lose his grip on reality. Conner completely neglected the spin he was forced to take, a rotate that Tommy had caused.

It was him who hit the wall with impact, crying out in shock.

The collision had knocked him out for a moment, and Conner's vision took time to return. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were a large brown and blue blur. When he could focus his sight again, he clearly saw Tommy before him, sparks and flames in the background.

What he didn't see was the large shard of glass in his attacker's hands.

Tommy's breath hissed ruthlessly on his skin, "How does it feel to die at the hands of your mentor?"

Conner gulped, realizing he was pinned to the wall with no escape. He refused to look the man in the eye, the fright of what he saw taking a hold of him.

"Dr. O isn't killing me…" Conner grunted, "You killed him. Along with all the others."

Tommy growled faintly, pushing the teen harder against the wall.

Conner could feel consciousness slowly leaving him, the trauma to his head sending waves of pains through his skull. He fought through it though, and kept his mind focused on the one thing in front of him.

"You're…nothing but one of them. I die as a Ranger, fighting for what I believe in."

At hearing this, Tommy leaned forward, his lips pressed softly against Conner's ear. He had no reaction to the move, not even the slightest flinch. "Guess what?"

And then it came, the most agony Conner had ever felt in his life. The large, glass shard made one, quick thrust into his stomach, going all the way back until it hit his spine.

"You couldn't be a Ranger even if you wanted to."

There was no support on his body once Tommy stepped away, and Conner dropped to the ground incompetently. His hands clutched tightly against the glass, eyes wide with shock and pain. He couldn't breathe against the fiery anguish, feeling as if the blood was being drained from his body while his lungs were stabbed repetitively.

He didn't watch as Tommy walked away, he could only see his legs move by. There was nothing he could do anymore, the fight was over. And the vicious man himself saw it as well having left the room.

Last Conner saw, Tommy stood at the top of the stairway, staring at the violent masterpiece he had created. Bodies lied scattered on the ground, the floor of what was their safe haven. Blood stained all it touched, surrounded by scorching flames.

He must have closed his eyes for a longer time than he thought, because when he opened them back up, Tommy had a lit match in between his fingers. His sight blurred in and out, he couldn't distinguish what exactly he was doing.

But soon enough, it became clear. Tommy walked away throwing the fire match into the lair. Faintly, so faintly Conner could hear him laughing a cry of victory as he made his way out of the house.

He had two minutes, at the most, before the lair went up in flames. Conner clutched his gut tightly, the glass still impaled in his body when he tried to crawl his way to the staircase.

The Ranger remembered getting a few inches away before darkness consumed his mind, and his body lay limp awaiting a blazing death.

* * *

Reality. Tommy shot up in his bed, his mind welcomed back into reality. His lungs gasped for air, acting as though he hadn't breathed during his time of slumber. His face, drenched in sweat, dripping down to his chest held nothing but shock.

He continued to wheeze; he literately couldn't breathe. His legs were tangled in his sheets and in the dark room; he clung for anything real, an object to tell him he was alive.

It was yet another dream.

No,

A nightmare.

_To Be Continued_


	2. Reality

_Reality_

The one-story house located aimlessly in the middle of the woods had not changed, but Hayley noticed something different the morning when she walked inside.

It was yet another average day for her, waking early in preparation to spend the morning laboring over the latest Zord in the making or tweaking the Raptor Cycles to get one more mile of speed on them.

Her life had changed in ways she couldn't imagine after she had met Tommy Oliver. Hayley couldn't remember the last time she had slept in, instead now taking advantage of the days she opened Cyber Space late to do all the work she could for the Rangers.

And today was no different, she thought. The sun beamed mercilessly on her back, and with the sound of birds singing softly in the air, she struggled to open the front door of her friend's home while balancing a latte and briefcase in her arms.

It was then, as the door swung open, that she had noticed the difference inside. For a woman of her intellect, she couldn't figure out what it was. A part of her disregarded the thought, yet as she took a stroll inside and threw her keys onto the newest end table, it continued to rub her the wrong way.

Everything was the same; the furniture hadn't been moved and the curtains remained open to bring forth the shining morning sun. Everything was kept neatly placed, dusted and organized in a way that labeled itself 'The home of Thomas Oliver'. So what bothered Hayley kept even her clueless.

That is, of course, until she walked to the living room, passing by the kitchen entrance on the way. In the corner of her eye, she caught a minor yet faultless glimpse of someone inside, a man sitting silently at the table.

Her feet froze almost instantly, her mind reeling as she calculated the time of day.

Friday, 7 am.

The house was always empty at this time, and she was the only one with a key. Which meant either she was seeing things, or the change of environment wasn't in her imagination.

She slowly moved backwards, her coffee and briefcase still in hands. Her eyes blinked frantically, as if she was in denial towards what she saw.

There, with his head bowed and shoulders slumped, was none other than Tommy himself.

Hayley may have been feet away, but her eyes could clearly see that something was wrong. The man was dressed in clothes of which he had slept in; black boxers and a short-sleeved shirt wrinkled slothfully. His head hung so low she couldn't see his eyes, but could still see his sight was locked on the coffee mug in front of him.

She hesitated on moving, her legs and brain no longer connected. "Tommy?" Her voice echoed on the walls, the only sound she heard in response being the beating of her heart getting louder.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" She took a step forward, gently dropping her briefcase on the way. "You usually call me when you're sick…if I have extra work to do today, please tell me now. You know I hate surprises."

Her light-hearted chuckle went unnoticed. Tommy didn't move an inch, he didn't blink and she began to wonder if he was even breathing. The gut feeling that something was wrong ached in her heavily, but it was when she made the decision to move closer to the kitchen table that she could hear a faint voice speak up.

"Please leave, Hayley." His voice was distant, soft, and barely heard against the sound of her own reeling mind.

"Come again?"

"Please…" With his head still lowered to the table, Tommy looked up at her with blood-shot eyes. "**Leave**."

The last word came out of his mouth with more power, one would almost say demanding. His attitude was all off, and the last time Hayley had seen him anything like this was back in their junior year of college.

Hayley froze for a moment. She was smarter than others were; she could put two and two together and make sense of the world in the process. But a part of her didn't want to reach the conclusion here. She pushed it back in her head, saving anything of like for a worse case scenario.

"Tommy," she took the chance of moving forward once more, pulling out a kitchen chair against his appeal. "You're in your kitchen, sitting in your boxers, staring at what looks to be ice-cold coffee, and I'll be honest; you look like Conner's Tyrannozord just shifted in reverse and trampled all over you."

She watched as his eyes found their way back to the coffee mug. As she sat down in her own chair, she screamed at her subconscious to disregard any logical conclusion to what was happening.

They had fixed things, she knew he had overcome his fears and everything had found its way into being all right. Something different was going on here, something different _had _to be going on. She refused to go down that road with him again.

It was just too painful.

"I'm not leaving until I know what's going on."

Hayley could be stubborn at times, just as he could. She knew they butted heads on many occasions, and it was no surprise to her when Tommy looked up again, this time with his entire face, and she saw the anger written over his expression.

"Hayley…_leave._"

As Tommy looked up at her, Hayley could only imagine her subconscious being shot to the ground and burned to ashes. The gray circles under his eyes and the heaviness of his eyelids were enough to force her to reality.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Her voice was small; she felt that it barely left her throat.

She didn't want to believe it, god how she didn't want it to be true. But all the evidence pointed to the facts. From the stale coffee, the sleep-deprived body and attitude, to the lack of clothes and the fear she could see hidden beneath his eyes.

In her mind, she saw him in front of her, a 24-year-old college student quivered up in the corner of his dorm room bed screaming for everyone to get away from him. It seemed like a millennium ago when Smitty had confronted her, feeling as if she was the only one who could get through to their friend and the night terrors he seemed to be experiencing.

Her heart stopped in her chest, and as she stared at Tommy, she could feel all the sorrow from those years before rushing back to her.

"Oh god, Tommy…" She reached out to him, the skin on her hand gently lying against his arm. For the brief moment she was in contact with him, she could feel just how truly cold he was. The sensation sent shivers up her spine.

Then he pulled away, not only knocking the chair he sat in onto the floor, but also spilling the cold coffee on the table.

"**Leave!**" his voice roared, his eyes shut tightly to the point where he felt the skin might rip.

Hayley hadn't moved, despite his order. She stared at him intently, watching as his arms fidgeted until he finally pulled them closely to his chest, the dripping sound of coffee spilling onto the floor distracting them both from the sound of his own breathe hitching.

Eventually, Hayley slowly stood up, keeping her eyes locked closely on the man to make sure she didn't do anything to startle him.

He seemed to be zoned out in his own world though. He hadn't even moved when she brushed up against him, leaning down to pick up the chair and place its legs back on the floor.

"Sit." She picked up the coffee mug, setting it back down on the table.

Frustration ran through her as Tommy didn't respond, his arms still wrapped tightly around his poorly dressed body. She wanted to grab him by the arms and throw him into the chair; something she would have probably done on any other occasion, too. But she knew better, and she sighed heavily.

"Tommy, you're getting coffee all over your feet. Sit, now." Hayley gave out the orders this time, ones that were shockingly obeyed. Tommy sat back down in the chair, shaking through the process nonetheless.

And once he was there, he sunk down in the seat, head in hands.

Hayley still didn't want to believe what was happening. As she gathered paper towels from the further end of the kitchen, she could only try to comprehend the actuality.

Soon after she learned about the Power Rangers, and the part of his life she could have never guessed was true, she began to discover more about Tommy than she could have wanted to.

Hayley had begun to understand why he was late for classes and digs, why he fell asleep in the theater during movies; she started to see even small things, like why he was awake at 3 am working on the morpher designs.

It was the ill-fated day Smitty had came to her that she realized just how heavy being a Power Ranger was on Tommy. It took time, more time than she wanted to go through, to have him sit down and explain it to her.

Hayley let out a bittersweet chuckle as she wiped down the kitchen table, glancing at Tommy as she did. Stubborn, just like she was. She couldn't remember how many times she had to demand him to let her in. Finally he did.

It then took nearly two years to aid him in the situation. The nightmares were always intense - there was never a reason for them not to be. The fear he held inside, the panic of what he could become again, who he had been, all down to the evil he knew was still inside of him…it was all unleashed in his subconscious.

She could never begin to relate to the nightmares he had of his evil self.

Hayley sat back down, leaving the dirty towels on the table right next to the empty coffee mug. She waited for him to say something, make any sign of communication, however could see that he was still in his own world.

She feared this was only the beginning of him pulling away all over again.

"I guess it makes sense, logically," Hayley's voice broke the silence. "Once you became a ranger again, the fears were bound to resurface. If you think about-"

"Stop!"

Tommy's shout caught her off guard, his eyes widening as he curled his shaking hands into tight fist.

"Stop trying to analyze it."

Hayley wished anything could replace the pit of emotion settled in her stomach, the kind of feeling that made you want to throw up or just ignore everything that was going on. She stared at Tommy, watching as his eyes darted back and forth between many objects in the kitchen; none of which were her.

"Analyzing this is the only way to find the solution, Tommy." Her voice was calm and steady, and emanating reliability in her that she never knew existed in her.

Tommy shot his head up, his frighteningly timid eyes gazing through hers.

"No." His voice cracked slightly, "Probing things to the very last detail isn't the _only _way to resolve things, Hayley. It's just _your _way."

Pushing the chair back, Tommy snatched the empty and dripping coffee cup from Hayley's side of the table and stumbled over to the stovetop of the kitchen.

"Oh, okay." Hayley crossed her legs, watching with distain as the man tried to pour another pot of coffee into his mug, the shaking in his arms only making a mess over the counter.

"So we'll just do this your way - ignore anything that's happening, watch as you push away everyone you care about, all until you reach your breaking point in front of Anton Mercer and many other notable paleontologists."

Tommy didn't reply. He simply slowly lowered the coffee pot down to the counter, having let it sit in a pile of stale liquid. From Hayley's point of view, it almost looked as if he was either counting to ten, or merely zoned out.

Then, shockingly, what happened next didn't startle her. With a frustrated shout, Tommy threw the coffee mug against the wall, the loud and echoing smashing of glass drowned out by his cry.

Hayley didn't move. She didn't even bother looking at the mess behind her that he had created. She kept her eyes locked on Tommy, as he pounded his hands against the counter until the little strength he had was gone.

The silence was almost deafening after that, as if no noise could be louder than the glass smashing against the kitchen walls. She didn't expect Tommy to talk anymore, she simply waited until she felt the tension riding on his shoulders slowly let go of its strong grip.

She cleared her throat loudly, "Did that make you feel better?"

It wasn't sarcastic, but it wasn't being considerate either. If Hayley wanted to coddle the man, she'd be at his side hugging him until he couldn't breathe. But she didn't do things that way, at least not with Tommy Oliver.

His heavy breathing slowly subsided, and his fist uncurled into the puddle of cold coffee. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw his knees buckle, and that was when she let her worry rise.

"Tommy, maybe you should try and get some sleep. There's no point in figuring this out if you can't even keep a thought going."

He shook his head, ever so slowly. "I can't."

His voice was soft, too low for her to fully hear. While she didn't budge from the kitchen table, she titled her head sideways, as if it gave her a better position to hear him.

"I can't…watch…as I hurt you again."

It was odd how her heart skipped a beat, but her mind began to administer things at a faster speed. He may not have wanted her to analyze the situation, but she had already began the process when entering his house and seeing him in this state.

This really did recur because of his new morpher.

His voice spoke louder this time. "I can't watch…as I hurt _them._"

Tommy didn't turn to look at her, but she could see his eyes shifted over to where she sat. It was as if he knew that whatever he said, she could decipher it into what he didn't _want _to say.

And oddly enough, it had worked before he began to look at her. Hayley sighed, bowing her head with a burden she wasn't strong enough to carry.

During those grad school years, Tommy had told her that he experienced night terrors of sadistic things, all from conquering the town to murdering his closest Ranger friends. Whatever he had nightmares of, it always revolved around the Power Rangers, old to new.

His biggest fear always ended up being destroying the side of good that he was once turned against.

It didn't surprise her that it was happening again, with not only his students, but the newest generation of the Rangers.

She thought to herself, _'same ending, just a new story.'_

"I know I got over this. I know…" he sighed, pulling his arms to his chest, "I know it's…foolish to just fall back into this all because I have a morpher again."

Tommy then turned to her, eyes gaping into hers with almost a gleam of plead. "But there are so many possibilities, Hayley. So many ways that Mesogog could resurface the evil in me. I saw firsthand what he's capable of.

"When he captured me, I laid there and spent the night going over the equations, the matter of probability - _anything _that he could do to re-emerge the evil-!"

Hayley shot up from her chair, the noise startling him out from hyperventilating.

"Tommy!" She watched as he slowly began to come back to the moment in time, the white glaze over his eyes fading away and returning her to his normal brown pupils.

She walked towards him, her hand gripping his arm tenderly. "I am not going to stand here and baby talk you into believing that it can't happen. I told you in college, and I'll tell you now, there is a chance every day that you could be turned evil again."

Hayley looked him in the eyes, gripping his face to make him do the same. She wasn't going to stand here and talk to him as he zoned out.

"We don't know for sure if there's still something inside of you that can be resurfaced…but with Mesogog now here…"

His breath hitched at those words, and even Hayley couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She shook her head slightly with a gulp,

"You can't let it get a hold of you, though. It's just _fear. _You need to use that fear against them, not let it take over you."

Tommy didn't nod his head, or give any sign of acknowledgement to Hayley when she said this. If it were any other person, they'd probably be frustrated and storm away. But just by looking into his eyes, Hayley could see a blanket of liberation wash over her friend. The piercing fear that haunted him seemed to get a tad bit thinner with her statement.

Taking a step back, Hayley let go of him. "The possibility that Mesogog could turn you against us is just all the more reason to destroy him, Tommy."

She wasn't expecting anything beneficial after this. She knew a few words wouldn't solve the problem, or make the wound go away. But for some odd reason, watching as Tommy sank to the ground, one leg sprawled out in front of him, was more a relief than seeing him stand number than a statue.

Hayley didn't bring herself to the ground with him. It was all she needed to see him nod his head ever so slightly with an understanding to know nothing more needed to be done. She wasn't expecting to be in the circumstances again, but Haley was prepared to stand by his side just as she did in grad school.

And just like in grad school, the subtle snoring she heard from Tommy gave her a reassuring peace that everything was going to be all right in time.

_**The End**_


End file.
